What a close shave!

At some time in the fall, my girl S won a shaving set from work, which she promptly
gave to me for Christmas. It consisted of a shaving brush, some shaving soap as well as foam from Proraso.

Well, I was intrigued by the brush and soap so I tried it and was duly impressed. I really liked the way it foamed up on my skin, and it allowed me to shave with my normal, 5-blade monstrosities that I have never really warmed up to over the years - anyone who knows me will attest to the fact that I just don't like shaving all that much, and usually carry a 3 day beard around :)

Anyway, I was so impressed by this discovery that I started wondering about possibly using a straight razor. The problem is (and anyone who knows me will ALSO attest to this) that I don't have the steadiest of hands. Whether it's some congenital defect and I did have some nervous system issues as a child) or just that I drink too much coffee, the fact is that I simply do not trust myself with truly sharp instruments anywhere near major blood vessels.A discussion of this with S led her to tell me of a friend of hers who swears by his safety razor. A googling of safety razors, and weekend's worth of reading led me to send my order out to an online shaving gear site for the Merkur Futura. This little German-made marvel is a real wonder! It is fully adjustable, allowing you to change the rake angle of the blade. It is well balanced, and even though I have the chrome version it never feels slippery or anything. It is also extremely easy to use - just pull the top cap off and pop in a new blade, and you're ready to go!

Shaving with this system has really changed my shaving life. I still don't shave all that often, but now it's more a matter of time, rather than the fear of pain from poor shaving foams and even poorer blades.

I will NEVER return to the disposable blade, ever. If at some point safety blades are no longer made, maybe I will try the straight razor - or, I will start my career as the new Grizzly Adams J
Peace.
Jojo